Scream, Pretty Peggy (1973)

Sian Barbara Allen stars as Peggy...a rather odd and pushy college student. When she sees an ad for a housekeeper offering ridiculously low wages, she jumps to the opportunity! The home is an odd place...and the sculptor (Ted Bessell) lives with his rather unfriendly mother (Bette Davis). But she still wants the job because she knows who Jeffery Elliot (Bessell) is...he's a famous sculptor and she is a bit of a groupie who is infatuated with him. But as I said, it's an odd house...and it has a secret called 'Jennifer'. Peggy's told that Jennifer is his insane sister...and she's kept hidden in an upstairs room much like Mr. Rochester's wife in "Jane Eyre". But you keep getting the impression that there is far, far more to the story than all this. But what? What is really going on here?!This is EXACTLY the sort of crazy, scary plot folks looked for and expected with installments of "The ABC Movie of the Week". Subtle and sophisticated, this and most of their films were NOT....and instead they went for the weird, twisted and downright odd. This film has this in spades but I don't want to say too much more as it might spoil the film. Just be sure to watch it and try not to laugh too much at the surprise ending!!

Hammer scribe Jimmy Sangster must have felt vindicated with this made-for-TV effort since his influential TASTE OF FEAR aka SCREAM OF FEAR (1961) script for the famed British horror stable had always been likened to Alfred Hitchcock's even more seminal PSYCHO (1960) – which this apes to a considerable extent – when it had owed so much more to Frenchman H.G. Clouzot's classic suspenser DIABOLIQUE (1955)! Linking the film under review to yet another popular title in the Grand Guignol vein, i.e. Robert Aldrich's much-imitated WHAT EVER HAPPENED TO BABY JANE? (1962), is the casting of an ageing Bette Davis – though, coming at the tail-end of the cycle, she is only allotted "Guest Star" status here…even if the legendary actress contrived to appear in 4 more similar outings before she was out! The third notable name in the credits is that of director Hessler, who had helmed a quartet of stylish and entertaining genre pictures at AIP. This was his first official bow to the small-screen where, by and large, he would thrive for the rest of his career – curiously enough, Hessler's movie debut was yet another DIABOLIQUE-inspired chiller, namely CATACOMBS aka THE WOMAN WHO WOULDN'T DIE (1965; which I have immediately opted to acquire)! Anyway, SCREAM PRETTY PEGGY is a decent shocker with a plot that keeps one watching despite not being hard to figure out: Davis was basically playing herself – domineering and with a fondness for the bottle (if Sangster's own accounts in the Audio Commentaries for her two vehicles at Hammer are to be believed!). Unfortunately, however, bland Ted Bessell is no Anthony Perkins, while heroine Sian Barbara Allen is a bit too-good-to-be-true! Events kick-off with a murder outside the garage of a remote country estate perpetrated by what appears to be a blonde-haired madwoman melodramatically wielding a knife, followed by an advertisement at a nearby school for a house-keeping job at that very residence – one Allen is eager to take on, even though the rate is well below the minimum wage (which she then persuades Bessell to increase). Davis is not keen on having another girl around so soon but, hampered by advancing age, booziness and, eventually, a broken leg, she soon realizes that opposition to Allen's buoyancy (and, apparently, greater ability to cook) is pretty much futile! The latter and the old woman's son actually hit it off well since he is a sculptor of modest fame, while she is an art student. Allen is particularly drawn to life-size figures of demons he has molded which, of course, ultimately reveal a terrible secret! The past comes back to haunt the household in the form of the murder victim's father who became worried and went to look for the girl at her last-known address. Before long, he too is missing…though Allen discovers his spectacles near the garage door and his own car parked inside! Besides, she sees the killer herself when the garage door keeps banging during the night on account of the wind and the latter ascends from the room above to close it firmly! When querying about her, she is told that that girl is Davis' daughter and Bessell's sister who was supposed to have gone away and got married but who is mentally unstable and they have hidden her away rather than being committed! The naïve Allen determines to befriend her, but she gets a lot more than she bargained for... As I said, the plot is too familiar for the twist not to be obvious, as is the identity of the person to finally put the killer to rest but, for what it is, the trim 73-minute picture is entertaining and features enough embellishments (spunky heroine, indomitable matriarch, victims ingeniously disposed of) to counter a basically hackneyed formula.

Perky college co-ed (Sian Barbara Allen, who looks a bit like Jessica Harper) talks her way into job as housekeeper for a famous sculptor and his elderly mother; soon, she's curious about the person living in the room over the garage, a woman she's told is incurably insane. TV-made extension of "Psycho"'s theme, lacking at the very least one big jolt (no shower scene here). Instead, "Scream, Pretty Peggy" is full of chit-chat, relying on a single plot-hook in which to hang all its weary exposition. The performances are unusually strong for a television feature, particularly by Ted Bessell as the artist, but the reedy-thin story is stretched to the breaking point. Interesting location, appropriately scary music from Bob Prince, pithy supporting work from Bette Davis. Otherwise, pretty tame.

I never got to see "Scream, Pretty Peggy" when it first aired, but many years later I watched it on TV here in Chicago. I taped it, luckily, I was happy to have a copy, because this movie is one of the best TV movies of our time.SUMMARY: Peggy Johns (Sian Barbara Allan) takes a job as housekeeper from a college employment department in a old mansion owned by Mrs. Elliot (Bette Davis) and her son Jeffrey (Ted Bessel). Jeffrey is an artist who works in the creepy old mansion. Peggy finds out about his deranged sister who lives in the mansion above the garage. She suspects something is wrong when George Thornton (the former housekeeper's father) comes to the mansion to look for his daughter. The daughter is missing. Peggy get suspicious and looks further into the history of the family. Mrs. Elliot warns Peggy to leave because she is in danger. Peggy does not listen to her and stays. But there's a murderer and he's after Peg.I love the setting in the creepy old mansion. The killer still gives me chills every time you see her in the white cloak. I really love this movie. The acting is so-so, Bette Davis has a hard time though. If you liked this movie check out "The Dark Secret of Harvest Home". It's another horror TV movie starring Bette Davis. I think this one if my favorite TV movie after "Stranger In Our House". *** 1/2 stars, 10/10. SEE THIS MOVIE IF THE CHANCE COMES UP!!!!!!